5 Letter Words That Start With L

290 words Words by letter Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are all 290 5 letter words that start with L in a standard word-game dictionary, sorted so the everyday words come first. Use the Wordle helper below to add letters you know, letters to leave out and a pattern, or scan the common words with their meanings.

L has 290 five-letter words, and plenty of them are about size and amount: "large", "least" and "level". Others are about feeling, like "lucky", "loved" and "laugh".

"Laugh" is a famous spelling puzzle because "gh" sounds like an F. "Legal" is a handy word for older students. Many L words end in "ed" or "s", such as "loved" and "lines", so test those endings when the start is solved.

5-letter words starting with L: 290
Most used: later
Most common last letter: S 96 words

5 letter words starting with L: Wordle helper

Type the letters you know. In Pattern, use _ for an unknown letter (for example l_a_e). "Has letters" keeps words that use those letters anywhere; "Leave out" removes words with those letters.

Pattern Has letters Leave out Ends with Contains Sort

Most common 5-letter words that start with L

Ranked by how often the word appears in English text. "Type" is the word's main part of speech.

#	Word	Meaning	Type
1	later	happening at a time subsequent to a reference time	adv.
2	least	used to form the superlative	adv.
3	local	relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a...	adj.
4	level	a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality	noun
5	large	above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent	adj.
6	looks	perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards	verb
7	leave	go away from a place	verb
8	light	(physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation	noun
9	learn	gain knowledge or skills	verb
10	lives	a characteristic state or mode of living	noun
11	lower	move something or somebody to a lower position	verb
12	legal	established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules	adj.
13	loved	have a great affection or liking for	verb
14	lines	a formation of people or things one beside another	noun
15	lived	inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of	verb
16	louis	United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)	noun
17	labor	a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages	noun
18	lucky	occurring by chance	adj.
19	liked	prefer or wish to do something	verb
20	likes	prefer or wish to do something	verb
21	links	a golf course that is built on sandy ground near a shore	noun
22	limit	the greatest possible degree of something	noun
23	lying	be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position	verb
24	laugh	produce laughter	verb
25	loves	a strong positive emotion of regard and affection	noun
26	lunch	a midday meal	noun
27	leads	an advantage held by a competitor in a race	noun
28	loans	the temporary provision of money (usually at interest)	noun
29	lewis	United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)	noun
30	loose	not compact or dense in structure or arrangement	adj.
31	label	assign a label to; designate with a label	verb
32	layer	single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance	noun
33	lists	give or make a list of; name individually; give the names of	verb
34	lands	the land on which real estate is located	noun
35	logic	the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference	noun
36	lover	a person who loves someone or is loved by someone	noun
37	laura	no short meaning listed
38	loads	a large number or amount	noun
39	laser	an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation	noun
40	loyal	steadfast in allegiance or duty	adj.
41	lions	large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male	noun
42	liver	large and complicated reddish-brown glandular organ located in the upper right portion of the abdominal cavity	noun
43	lease	let for money	verb
44	lakes	a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land	noun
45	loses	fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense	verb
46	lemon	yellow oval fruit with juicy acidic flesh	noun
47	lined	bordered by a line of things	adj.
48	lodge	be a lodger; stay temporarily	verb
49	lords	a person who has general authority over others	noun
50	logan	a mountain peak in the St. Elias Range in the southwestern Yukon Territory in Canada (19,850 feet high)	noun
51	lobby	a large entrance or reception room or area	noun
52	legit	no short meaning listed
53	loser	a contestant who loses the contest	noun
54	lanes	a narrow way or road	noun
55	lungs	either of two saclike respiratory organs in the chest of vertebrates	noun
56	lance	a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon	noun
57	locks	fasten with a lock	verb
58	lynch	kill without legal sanction	verb
59	lasts	the temporal end; the concluding time	noun
60	lacks	the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable	noun
61	leaks	an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape	noun
62	lunar	of or relating to or associated with the moon	adj.
63	lifts	raise from a lower to a higher position	verb
64	liner	(baseball) a hit that flies straight out from the batter	noun
65	laden	filled with a great quantity	adj.
66	limbs	one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper	noun
67	lamps	an artificial source of visible illumination	noun
68	loops	fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines	noun
69	leone	the basic unit of money in Sierra Leone; equal to 100 cents	noun
70	lever	a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum	noun
71	lyric	the text of a popular song or musical-comedy number	noun
72	lotus	native to eastern Asia; widely cultivated for its large pink or white flowers	noun
73	linen	a fabric woven with fibers from the flax plant	noun
74	leafs	the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants	noun
75	logos	a company emblem or device	noun
76	litre	a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard...	noun
77	lapse	a mistake resulting from inattention	noun
78	leash	restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal	noun
79	liars	a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly	noun
80	liter	a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard...	noun

5 letter words that start with L and end with S

looks
lives
lines
louis
likes
links
loves
leads
loans
lewis
lists
lands
loads
lions
lakes
loses
lords
lanes
lungs
locks
lasts
lacks
leaks
lifts
limbs
lamps
loops
lotus
leafs
logos

5 letter words that start with L and end with R

later
lower
labor
layer
lover
laser
liver
loser
lunar
liner
lever
liter
lager
loner
laker
liber
lazar
leper
leger
lidar
luger
lemur
laver
lifer
liger
lamer
loper
liker
laxer
lobar

5 letter words that start with L and end with E

large
leave
loose
lease
lodge
lance
leone
litre
lapse
ledge
louie
latte
lotte
liege
lathe
lunge
levee
ladle
lisle
louse
lithe
livre
lense
liane
lieve
longe
loupe
lethe
lucre
lyase

More 5 letter words with L

Less common words that are still valid in most word games.

ledge
levin
latex
louie
leaps
lends
latch
libel
lofty
limbo
lousy
latte
leafy
laced
lipid
lacey
leans
lowly
lucid
lured
leach
lefty
lambs
looms
lotto
lawns
lorry
lupus
lymph
lumps
locus
leech
lager
laird
lobes
liang
laces
lilac
licks
lumen
lakhs
loner
leaky
leapt
longs
lingo
largo
larva
livid
lotte
liege
llama
lures
layup
libra
lathe
leary
lupin
limes
lunge
laker
lindy
lough
lumpy
liber
lurks
lolly
lazar
leper
levee
lurch
lapis
loony
lapel
laity
lobos
lasso
lemma
lanky
lurid
loins
labia
leeks
leger
lowes
liens
loath
loopy
ladle
lidar
lopes
lofts
liven
lisle
luger
louse
locum
leery
lobed
lemur
liken
loons
laver
larch
liana
lamas
lauds
lusts
leggy
lithe
layed
leben
lifer
linky
lexis
locos
larks
limos
loach
leant

Questions people ask

How many 5-letter words start with L?

This list has 290 5-letter words starting with L, taken from a standard word-game dictionary and limited to words that appear in real English text.

What are the most common 5-letter words that start with L?

later, least, local, level, large, looks, leave, light are the most used in everyday English.

What is a good Wordle start word that begins with L?

Pick a common word with several different vowels and frequent letters. From this list, later, least, large, learn, lives all use five different letters and at least two vowels.

Source: the ENABLE word list (a public-domain dictionary used for word games), ranked by how often each word appears in English text (the open wordfreq project), with short meanings from Princeton WordNet. Offensive words are left out.

See every letter on one page: 5-letter words A to Z